


Unknown Tragedy

by Alzul



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Tread Carefully, this gets very dark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26353906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alzul/pseuds/Alzul
Summary: Tommy meets a new friend, but is Bitzel really who, or rather, what he says he is?
Relationships: None
Comments: 8
Kudos: 69





	Unknown Tragedy

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning - Very very dark themes near the end.

Tommy POV

I was just 12 years old when I first met him. 

The memories were like a hazy blur, muddled by time and most likely altered in many ways. Although I still try my best to remember. 

In elementary school all you cared about was if you had friends to survive recess with. 

My friends were all sick, busy or hanging out with new people. I walked around the field by myself, hands tucked in the pockets of my trousers and my rain jacket zipped tight. There was a light drizzle of rain echoing in my head. Clearing my head and giving me a feeling of calm. 

I was on the borders of the field when I found a small almost door like cut out in the fence. It was blocked by some boards that blended into the wood, it was practically invisible if you weren't looking at the direct spot. 

My 12 year old self decided it would be ok to open it. 

I moved back the boards to reveal a small doorway carved into the fence, I managed to squeeze through although I was quite tall for a grade 7 boy. My blond hair got some mud on it and my knees were damp but I made it out of the school into the little forest next to it. There was a pathway connected to the small hole in the fence leading to god knows what, the sun shown directly on the path as if coaxing me towards whatever the world was trying to show me. 

The sun illuminated the path with specks of dust floating in the rays. The birds chirped in the forest and the path crunched underneath my running shoes. 

Suddenly a big drop of water fell on my head and I jumped back and looked up. The sky was covered with leaves as if it was a big umbrella. The leaves were drooping slightly and the forest felt almost. Alive. 

A small breeze blew past and ruffled my hair which I patted back down again with my hand. I spotted some movement in the dark spots of the forest but decided my eyes were just messing with me. 

The path opened up to a small area which was a lot less dense. The trees were scattered around and the ground with lush grass sparkling with dew. I heard a small creek nearby but I couldn't see it yet. 

The sun shone brightly even though it was hidden by rain clouds only minutes ago. On one of the bigger trees was a treehouse that looked to be in good condition. Cautiously I walked over to it and looked up. It didn't look dirty or old at all, almost like someone kept it in good condition. 

There was a hole in the bottom of the treehouse, probably to climb up. A small rustle caught the corner of my eye and I snapped my head to the bushes to my right. I started creeping over but suddenly saw the time on my watch. I had 1 minute to get back before the bell. 

Without a second thought I started sprinting back through the way I went and almost jumped through the hole in the fence. Almost forgetting to put the wooden boards back I placed them carefully and heard the bell ring. Just in time. 

Damn the school principals for making recess only 15 minutes. I'll just have to come back at lunch. 

•••

I stood once again at the bottom of the tree, a squirrel in the treehouse almost taunting me as if it's challenging me to find a way up. I quickly glanced at my watch, 25 minutes left to explore. I was a fast runner. 

I spotted what looked to be a rope ladder on the inside and saw a bit hanging out. Even though I was relatively tall for my age I definitely couldn't even come close to reaching it. 

Looking around there weren't any sticks or anything to grasp it. Looks like I'll have to do it the hard way. 

I walked back a few steps and prepped myself for what I was about to do. 

At full speed I sprinted straight at the tree and rammed straight into it narrowly avoiding stabbing myself with a branch. 

With a plunk and a loud rustle the rope ladder dropped down right in front of me and I grabbed onto it without hesitation. Only had 20 minutes left. 

The ladder swung with the wind and I clung on for my life, my arms clinging onto the metal rungs. Eventually I tumbled into the treehouse and got up.   
Dusting the dirt off of my pants I took a look at my surroundings. 

The inside was spacious with a small tv in the corner somehow connected to an outlet. There was a tiny sofa in front of it. In the other corner there was a small table with a lonely chair. There was also a fridge which looked powered. It looked lived in. But not. 

I opened the fridge to find a few packets of chips and cans of soup which expire in two years. Definitely from a while ago. Even the chips expired three months ago. 

The roof had a few holes in it. Weird. In the last corner of this L shaped house was a few ropes dangling down from the ceiling. Maybe for climbing. 

I pulled up a nearby fallen chair and looked at the ropes. They were sturdy and have dust covering them. There was a reddish colour to them but it was hard to tell. 

Suddenly someone climbed up the ladder and into the treehouse without me noticing. 

"Hello?"

I shrieked out of fear and tumbled off the chair straight onto my back on the wood floor. 

I groaned and looked up at the boy in front of me. My eyes were a little blurry and I rubbed them with my sleeves. He offered a hand to help me up and I took it. 

He was taller than me by a centimeter and had tan skin. His hair was almost pitch black but slightly brown and he had a blue sweater on even though it had been raining this morning. 

"Thanks." I said to him and ungrasped his hand. He nodded back and smiled. 

"Who are you?" I asked him and he seemed to think for a few seconds before responding.

"I'm... Bitzel." He seemed to have decided on saying. "What's your name?"

"Oh I'm Tommy!" I said excitedly. He looked to be older than me but I couldn't tell just from looking at him. 

"Is this your tree house?" I asked him and he had a sad look on his face before nodding. 

"My dad made this for me when I was little." He looked around. "I used to stay here all the time. Not much more though." He trailed off. 

"This place is awesome!" I said excitedly and he laughed at my excitement. 

"So where do you live?" I asked him and he looked around. 

"Somewhere.... Near here.." He turned the question around. "So how did you get here?"

"Oh it's lunchtime right now, I go to the school that leads down the path that way!" I said and checked my watch while pointing at the direction I came from. There was still a few minutes left before I had to go back. 

"Well. I don't think that's the most convenient way to get in. Come on Tommy, I'll show you a better path." He went down the ladder and jumped off like he had been doing it all his life. 

"Wait shouldn't you also be in school right now?" I asked him and tried to copy how he jumped off, barely managing to not fall off. I landed beside him. 

"I'm in. Grade 8." He looked as if he and to think about it for a second. "And I wa- I'm homeschooled so I usually come here pretty often." He walked towards the sound of the water running. 

"Well you should stock the fridge more." I joked, "The chips expired ages ago."

"I usually bring my own lunch." He said and put his hands in his pockets. Somehow he wasn't cold even though he was in just a sweater. 

"How are you not cold?" I asked gesturing to my rain jacket. 

"I'm. Naturally warm I guess." He shrugged. 

We walked into the forest and followed some bright orange tape stuck onto trees as if in a path. The trees got denser and we found the small creek he was looking for. 

"Now we follow this." He said and it led to a small road that I recognized. 

"Hey I live like two minutes from here!" I said. I definitely was going to visit more often. 

"Well I think this is a more reasonable way to get in than going though a hole in the fence. Especially on weekends." He said. 

"Wait. How did you know it was a ho-" my watched beeped to tell me I had two minutes to get back. 

"Sorry Bitzel, gotta run!" I started sprinting back the way we came. 

"See you tomorrow!" I yelled behind me and saw him wave for a split second before going out of render distance.   
•••

"Hey Bit!"

He waved back on the sofa he was laying on and turned his attention back to an old book in his hands. Atleast it looked old. 

"Watcha readin?" I sat down next to him and rolled up the sleeves to my hoodie with the year 2017 on the back. The year I'm graduating from elementary school. 

The sun shone directly onto the sofa from a glass window with the curtains drawn back. He seemed to be in a peaceful state just listening to the nature sounds outside. 

It's been a little over a month since I first met him in the rainy days of April. I've been visiting almost everyday whenever I could and he was always here. In his blue sweater. 

"How many blue sweaters do you have?" I pointed out. He shrugged. 

"How many red and white T-shirt's do YOU have?" He said and nodded towards the shirt showing out of my hoodie collar. He had a point, it was kind of my signature at this point like his sweater. 

"Alright alright." I raised my hands in defeat and continued on. 

"What's happening today?" I plopped down on a bean bag in the corner. It was hidden behind the sofa and we found it last week. 

"Uhh I have some chips and a movie DVD I found." He pulled out an old copy of Frozen. 

"Dude that was made in like. 2013! How do you still have a copy?" I opened the box and it was perfectly intact. 

"I guess it just hasn't been touched for a while." He shrugged. I grabbed a bag of barbecue chips and opened it. The smell of fresh chips surrounded as I inhaled and sighed. I had to go back to school after this. 

I ate an entire family size and some of Bitzel's before my watch beeped for me to go back. He said he wasn't really hungry. 

"I had lunch at home." He said. 

I grabbed my hoodie which I tied around my waist and put it on, patting my hair back into its regular formation. 

"Bye Bitzel!" I said and and grabbed my bag. "See you after school!" 

He waved back with a smile and I ran back to the fence right before the bell rang.   
•••

I walked back through the path after school. My parents were away on a "business trip". Atleast that's what they called vacations where I couldn't go. 

I walked up to the tree and heard some noise inside. Probably Bitzel turning on the movie again. Walking up to the ladder I stepped on something crunchy, there wasn't supposed to be crunchy things on the floor in Spring. Oh well. 

I climbed up the ladder and immediately dropped my bag on the floor with a thud. My textbook slid out neatly beside me due to me forgetting to close my bag. 

"Rough afternoon?" Bitzel asked. An empty chip bag was on the table, the one I had half-finished from lunch. 

"Yeah." I sat down beside him and picked up the remote. "Let's finish the movie."

"Whatever you say." He said and I pressed play.   
•••  
"Uno!"

The sun was lightly setting as Bitzel played a red four. I slightly adjusted my legs to sit more comfortably on the floor and looked at my three cards. 

"Oh god please don't have a blue." I said and played a blue four. 

He looked defeated and I let out a sigh of relief but he quickly looked up at me and smirked. 

"No u." He said calmly and slammed down his last card. 

A blue reverse. 

"Nooooooooooooooooo." I said dramatically and fell back in slowmotion as he laughed at me. 

"Well now we're tied two two." He said. 

"Well I have to go now." I checked my phone, 6:09.

"Oh ok." He seemed slightly sad. 

"Wait. My parents are away on a business trip, well actually it's just them going on a vacation." I said slightly bitterly. "Do you wanna have a sleepover?"

"Oh I would lo- I. I'm afraid I can't Tommy." He said. 

"Why?" I checked the calendar, my parents wouldn't be home for another four days. 

"My mom wouldn't let me." He sighed and sat back down. 

"Oh that's sad. Maybe next time." I dropped my backpack through the hole. "Bye Bitzel!"

He waved back like always and I jumped down landing with a crunch. The sun set, leaving the forest in darkness as I walked home.   
•••  
"Bitzel!"

I went up the ladder as quickly I could with one arm, my other arm holding a wrapped box. 

"Yeah?" He helped me up into the treehouse. 

"Aren't you warm?" I asked him. He was wearing a blue sweater with jeans while I had just a T-shirt and shorts. 

"I kind of wear the same thing year round." He shrugged and we sat down on the floor beside he table. 

"Look at what I got!" I said and placed the box down. "It's a very special day!"

I unwrapped it to reveal a box of 12 mini cupcakes with a box of candles. 

"It's my birthday!" I exclaimed and threw a pile of confetti that I had kept in my pocket. 

"Tommy we're gonna have to clean all this up!" He rolled his eyes and picked up the candles. 

"Aren't you turning 13?" He asked and showed me the box of 12 cupcakes. 

"Well the candle is for 13?" I shrugged and shoved a cupcake in my mouth, "And it's my birthday. I can do whatever." I covered my mouth and swallowed the entire cupcake. 

"You're going into Highschool right?" He asked and I nodded. 

"Finally after all the years of dreadful elementary I get to go to a different place. No more stressing about people to play with I recess." I laid down after the slight sugar rush from the cupcake. 

"Can't believe half of summer already passed." I said and sat up, "here. Take some!" And I shoved the tray towards him. 

"Oh I can't. I'm uh- allergic to dairy." He said apologetically and gave them back. 

"Saaaaaad." I groaned, "you can help me blow the candles out!" I said excitedly and pulled out a match. 

"Be careful." He looked a little frightened and nervous. "Tommy be careful, we don't want you burning this place down."

"It'll be fineeee." I waved him off and lit one candle and placed it on the center cupcake and began my wish. 

"I wis-" Bitzel stopped me. "Hey if you want it to come true don't say it." I nodded. 

I blew out the candles.  
•••  
"What is 69% of 420? Bitzel read off the paper I handed him. 

"Uhhhhhhhhh 14- no wait 289.8." I answered and he nodded. 

"That's the last one." He said and I laid down on the couch with a groan. He got up from the beanbag and put the papers away. 

"Why do you carry 3 textbooks? Shouldn't you leave some at school?" He asked me and I shrugged. 

"Remember when I thought one was annoying." I rolled off the sofa onto the floor. "Atleast it's almost second semester, I get to change classes finally." I did a slight dance with my arms on the floor and got up to see Bitzel putting away my bag neatly in the corner. 

"Thanks Bit!" I said and went to check the small cupboard above the fridge for food. There were a few textbooks, all for grade 8 and 9 in every subject I was learning. And they looked like the ones I had but maybe a different version. 

"Bit why do you have these textbooks?" I turned to him and he was frozen. 

"Uhhhh- I keep my homeschooling books here because I. Study here a lot. It's calming." He said and I nodded, "I would too, it really is quiet here."

"Come on Tommy, don't you have a French exam tomorrow?" He crossed his arms and grabbed my French notes. 

"Ughhhhh fine mom." And his eye twitched slightly but I didn't notice.   
•••  
"What was so important Tommy?"

He was playing Minecraft on the Xbox 360 connected to the tv and an unopened bag of chips was on the table. 

"Why'd you tell me to be here?" He asked and handed me the bag which I took. 

"Don't you know?" I asked excitedly. My bag with my textbooks fell with a thud. Second semester had less homework than the first. My band folder was right next to it. 

"Happy 14th birthday!" I cheered loudly and placed down a small box. 

"Oh am I 14 already?" He said, his eyes were slightly glazed over. "It feels like no time has passed at all."

"Well I got you something!" The box opened to reveal and small cupcake with the letter B written on top with blue frosting. 

"Oh my god Tommy you didn't have to do this!" He looked so happy. 

"You know I did." I giggled and pulled out a copy of just dance with a new sensor. "And we can play this after."

"Tommy thank you so so much." He said and immediately opened the two. 

"No problem Bit." I stuck a candle on the cake, the same pack I used for mine. 

"I have to repay you this must have cost a lo-."

"Bit. Being friends with me is payment enough." I hugged him tight and he paused for a moment before returning it. 

"Now eat this you buffoon." I laughed and he sighed. 

"Tommy I'm allergic to gluten." He crossed his arms and sighed. 

"There's gluten in cupcakes?!" I asked appalled and he nodded. 

"You can have it." He said but I shook my head. 

"We can take a picture and have it as a memorial!" I said. "Here!"

I positioned my phone on top of the tv and dragged Bit with the cupcake over in front of it. I posed so the cupcake top was clearly visible and the automatic timer went off. 

"There we go! I'll bring tomorrow! I just have to print it and get a frame first." I checked my schedule for tomorrow. 

"Don't you have an exam to study for?" He asked as he loaded up just dance 2015. 

"It can wait. It's only the beginning of the semester!" I said. 

"Whatever you say Tommy."  
•••

"Bit. Do you ever think why we do. Anything?"

Me and him were laying on the grass, it was a cloudy spring day and my hoodie was folded under my head. I looked at my bag and sighed, school wasn't fun. 

"Why do you say that Tommy?" He asked and sat up, leaning on his arms and looking at me like he was curious. 

I opened up my phone, the picture of me and Bit was my lock screen. I had gotten the photo framed and it was hanging up in the walls of the treehouse in a blue and red frame. 

I got up and contemplated for a second. "Well. Everything we do ultimately leads to us dying, why is anything worth doing if we all just eventually die?" I laid back down with a thud and closed my eyes. 

"Well life is about enjoying it." Bitzel twirled a dandelion he had in his hand. "You should try to make the best of it, otherwise you might regret not doing everything you could've. Trust me Tommy, live life to the fullest."

He looked back down at the ground. 

"You should spend more time in reality."  
•••

"Hello?"

I entered the treehouse with my bag, it was light. I had grown so used to the constant weight of it that now it felt as light as a feather without the constant textbooks. The windows were open, letting in some air and ventilating the insides of the small space. Summer weather had already begun. 

I hadn't been here in a few days due to exams. Bitzel was usually always here whenever I arrived. 

There was a newspaper article on the table that looked very old and crinkled. It had a faded yellow look to it and I've never seen anything like it. 

Slowly I picked it up and saw something familiar on the front cover. 

It was Bitzel with his blue sweater, he looked a couple years younger. A date in the top said published 2014. 

The top headline was printed in red and white as if begging me to read it. 

An Unknown Tragedy

"Bitzel, 10, was found after a succeeded suicide attempt in his very own treehouse after the death of his parents in a car accident where he was the only survivor."

I stopped reading there. There was a whole page full of words but my heart stopped right at that second. 

There had to have been mistake. 

I looked around frantically as if wanting him to pop out and tell me this is a prank. 

My eyes landed on the ropes hanging from the ceiling. 

Oh my god. 

I remembered the first day I came here. The fallen chair in the corner, the red, dusty stains on the ropes. It couldn't be. 

On the newspaper was an attached note. I opened up the folded paper with shaking hands. 

Hi Tommy. 

While you were busy for the last few days I had time to think. You deserve to live a normal life, not spending hours in a treehouse everyday. You've changed for the short time I've known you, you've got new friends, talents, and so so much opportunity. Use it. And thank you for keeping me company. These were the best few months I've ever had. I'm afraid I have to go now. 

Live in reality Tommy. I'll always be there for you. 

~Bitzel. 

The paper dropped from my hands. It flipped to the back where the picture of me and Bitzel was as taped onto it, the frame removed. 

I felt a tear roll down my cheek. 

"Bitzel!" 

I jumped out of the treehouse, leaving my bag there and ran around the entire cleared out area screaming his name. My eyes were blurry from tears and I wiped them away with my sleeves, a blue sweater like he had. 

I ran into the forest shouting his name and stopping because I couldn't physically contain my emotions anymore. He was one of my best friends, the person who never gave up on me, who I could always trust. 

Who disappeared. 

Who I never saw again.


End file.
